Current Exhibition

Emory & Henry Art Department Student Exhibition
March 22 - April 30

E&H visual arts seniors Michelle Barnette, Liam Beasnette-Cullinane, and Shay Reynolds exhibit the culmination of their studies in the McGlothin Center for the Arts’ first Student Exhibition.

Michelle Barnette, T13, brown stone ceramic with glaze finish, 2020Michelle Barnette’s work consists of pinch pots made from brown stone clay with a glaze. These pieces are meant to represent the artist as a person in the way she sees herself, and a way for me to cope with the surrounding world.
“They are meant to be used and have a function in life. I as a person have a function and have purpose in this life. I let that reflect in my work. Along with being useful and functional, my pinch pots are fragile and can break but not as easy as glass. They are resilient to some of what the world throws at them but they do have a breaking point just as I do as a person. I wanted to create works that capture me as an artist but not have it be completely blatant to the viewer. My works are named with random letters or numbers. I don’t want the viewer to be told what to feel by a name for my works. I want them to take the works as they are”.

Liam Beasnette-Cullinane Killers Geometry, mixed media on plywood, 39” x 22”, 2020Liam Beasnette-Cullinane’s work exists as an intersection for my mind and the brain of my viewer. Fascinated with the self-contained, distinct reality that exists within every person’s mind:

“This has led me to fully devote my efforts to understanding the ontology of thought: what thought is, what can be said of the existence or nature of thinking, how consciousness can or cannot be categorized. In my current body of work, my research has been focused on the scientific nature of cognition through biology, psychology, and anatomy, as well as the philosophical implications of thought; human identity, instinct vs. socialized nature, and epistemology, the study of knowledge itself. Thought is the defining feature of our human species, and there is no consensus as to how it is defined or understood. My goal is to understand everything I can, share this, and compel others to do the same.”

Shay Reynolds Between, acrylic, graphite, hair, pen, and paper on canvas, 30” x 24”,

Shay Reynolds creates collages with acrylic paint and graphite on canvas with various materials ranging from vellum paper to glass or twine. These collages explore the meanings of the words identity, human, hidden, acceptance, and reflection:

“As I struggle to find my identity, I consistently write in quotes, lyrics, poetry, or significant words to create art based on these streams of consciousness. These words written with graphite or pen represent deeply ingrained anxieties about my journey to acceptance and self-love. The underlying abstract imagery plays with the psychological meaning, or suggestion of specific feelings, of colors while the descriptive imagery shows my visual manifestation of these feelings and traits. These layers of abstraction and description represent my experiences, feelings, and meditations that build onto one another to create myself.”